Avatar Drabbles
by Artemis Rae
Summary: A variety of drabbles written for different writing comms. See each individual chapter for pairings, ratings, genre, and summary, but usually skews towards canon pairings.
1. Generations

**Title:** Generations  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Katara and Family  
**Summary**: Family traditions endure.  
**A/N:** This is just a series of reposts of drabbles that have been posted on LJ but not here on ffnet. Rather than spam up my profile with a billion 100-200 word stories, I'm just throwing them all here under this one header.

Notice I go out of my way to avoid naming the father of the child. Takes place in the distant future. Written for theavatar100's challenge #59: Judgement.

* * *

It is normal, when celebrating the birth of a child, to hold the babe up to it's parents and compare.

The ears belong to the father, but the eyes are the mother's – it was a practice Katara was long aware of and was fully prepared for when she birthed her first child.

She wasn't ready for the unanimous decision from every single visitor: the little girl was apparently Katara's double.

Her father and brother were most adamant about this.

"Don't you see it, Katara?" Sokka demanded.

Katara took in the girl's calm blue eyes. "I think she looks like Mom."

* * *

Originally posted 08/15/2006


	2. Uncomfortable Feelings

**Title:** That Uncomfortable Feeling, Like You've Been Here Before  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Cabbage Man, Momo  
**Summary**: It was a curious creature, and he couldn't remember where he'd seen it before...  
**A/N:** Originally written for theavatar100 challenge #61: Stormy Petrel. A stormy petrel is one who appears at the onset of trouble.

* * *

It was a peculiar little creature – large ears and curious, intelligent eyes. It had appeared at his stall, hanging by its tail from the canvas that protected his wares from the elements. He studied the animal warily, and it looked right back at him with no fear.

It seemed familiar to him - as if their paths had crossed before. Judging by the awed reactions of those around him, it was an unusual beast that not many people had seen before.

But he _had._ He just couldn't remember where.

Suddenly there was a violent wind, a red and yellow blur, and the cracking and splintering of wood. He was left standing dumbstruck in front of what once had been his beautiful stand piled high with produce.

An anguished yell rose from his chest. "My cabbages!"

The white animal he had just been looking at burst from underneath the wreckage. With a squeal, it took off after the red and yellow blur.

_Oh._

* * *

Originally posted 08/28/2006


	3. Pride Before the Fall

**Title:** Pride Before the Fall  
**Rating: **K  
**Characters/Pairings:** Suki and Sokka (no spoilers)  
**Summary**: The first time they meet.  
**A/N:** Originally written for theavatar100 challenge #062: prima facie. Prima facie, if I remember correctly, means "first face" or "first impression." Set during "Warriors of Kyoshi".

* * *

The first time she sees him, she isn't impressed.

He's juvenile, chauvinistic, and a little too proud of abilities that are a little too rough around the edges.

She takes great pleasure in bringing him down a peg and embarrassing him in front of the other girls.

But when he comes back and kneels in front of her and begs her to teach him, she's surprised. She can see true humility in his blue eyes.

Perhaps he's not as bad as she originally thought.

* * *

The first time he sees her, he's so intimidated that he acts out in response.

She's mature, smart, and, worst of all, _better than him._

When he swallows his pride – and spirits know, he almost chokes on it – and asks her to teach him, she's patient with him as she guides him through the movements.

But when he gets the hang of the forms a little too quickly for her taste and gets a hit in, he's amused by her reaction. He sees her childish retort as evidence that she's not quite as grownup as she likes to act.

Perhaps they have more in common than he originally thought.

* * *

Originally posted 08/31/2006


	4. SlaughterhouseFive

**Title:** Slaughterhouse-Five  
**Rating**: K+  
**Characters/Pairings**: The Gaang  
**Summary**: The army fails the night Sozin's comet returns…  
**A/N: **Written for theavatar100 Challenge #88: Titles, in honor of the death of Kurt Vonnegut a year ago. Needless to say, it's AU like whoa (and also the inspiration for my next long-term Avatar story, once I get around to starting that.)

* * *

It is a child who comes upon the battlefield first, a mere boy who'd gotten separated from his family when they had fled the village. He approaches the temple of Agni slowly, breathing in the scent of stale air and burning flesh and fresh dirt and tripping over the loose earth and the ice slicks.

The smoke clears, and in front of him stands the only survivors of the battle of three armies. There are five people. Between the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation, only five people have lived through the fight that took place the night Sozin's comet returned to Earth.

Later the firebender will take the crown of the Fire Nation, and the earthbender will establish control of the Earth Kingdom. The siblings will split up the water tribes, with the warrior returning south and the waterbender going north.

The Avatar will sit above them and enforce a terrible peace through sheer force of will.

The Avatar's eyes are glowing, along with his tattoos, but despite this his gaze lands firmly on the boy. He drops to his knees, and silently mouths a prayer to Agni, knowing that the armies have failed. The Avatar and his cohorts have defeated the world's combined forces, and now there is no one left to stand against them as the Avatar controls the four nations – and his four companions - as easily as the four elements.

* * *

Originally published 04/12/2007


	5. Visions and Revisions

**Title:** Visions and Revisions  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Iroh  
**Summary**: There is much to consider as he heads home…  
**A/N: **Written for theavatar100 Challenge #90: The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock. Iroh aaaaangst.

_

* * *

_

Time for you and time for me,

_And time yet for a hundred indecisions,_

_And for a hundred visions and revisions,_

_Before the taking of a toast and tea._

-The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock

* * *

The wind is turning his nose and ears red, but the top deck has always been his favorite to sit place on board, so instead he carefully cups the tea in his hands and warms it, hoping that the warmth will spread through the rest of his bones.

There is much to consider – what he'll say when the crown is placed on his head and what robes he'll wear the first time he sits on the throne and who will be on his court. The Fire Nation flag will be flying over Ba Sing Se, but he can leave it in the hands of his advisors for a couple months while Lu Ten returns home to marry a girl from one of the noble families; his brother might try to wrangle the position from his son -

_("It makes sense that we two brothers would control two kingdoms, right, my lord?" He'll whisper slyly in Iroh's ear, and Iroh will smile, and agree, and know that Ozai does not deserve the Earth Kingdom because he has not shed blood for it.)_

So Lu Ten will marry a nice girl from a large family and return to Ba Sing Se to keep control of the Earth Kingdom, and Ozai will stay in the Fire Nation, right under Iroh's nose, and when Zuko comes of age Iroh will place him on his court, if he turns out to be trustworthy. Lu Ten has whispered that he can already see signs of treachery turning up in Azula, and Iroh thinks that he'll have to shove her off into one of the lesser noble families, one with a large country estate.

Yes, there is much to consider.

He asks the guards to bring him another pot of ginseng tea; the ship continues its swift journey back to the Fire Nation, and Iroh busies his mind planning the future that should have been in order to keep his mind from wandering to the cargo-hold of the ship, where a metal box containing his son's body lies.

* * *

Originally posted 05/01/2007. Bear with me while I clear out my backlog people.


	6. A Study in Red Delicious

**Title**: A Study in Red Delicious  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairing**: Sokka  
**Summary**: Nature makes fun of Sokka. Puns ensue.  
**A/N**: Written for theavatar100's Challenge #93: Elemental. This is a bad bad bad bad bad joke. Set sometime during S1.

* * *

The Earth Kingdom liked to tease him. That was the final conclusion Sokka reached as he stood in front of the tall trees, head craned back, eyes nearly watering with desire as he studied the large, ripe apples that dangled teasingly on the top branches.

He was pretty sure he was smarter than the tree; he just had to figure out a way to get the fruit down from said tree… _and_ make it stop mocking him. If he were the type of man who believed in such things, he would claim to hear a derisive laughter floating on the wind.

_Wind_.

Katara approached him, having finished pitching the tents and wanting to signal her impatience with Sokka's laziness and their late supper.

"Where's Aang?" He asked, before she could get a word in.

"Getting fresh water from the river. Why?"

Sokka silently pointed to the apples at the top of the tree.

"How are you going to get those down?" The same scornful tone that he'd heard in the wind was in Katara's voice.

He gave his sister his brightest grin and held up a finger in triumph. "Elementally, my dear Katara."

* * *

cue groans... _now_.

Originally posted 05/27/2007


	7. Family Heirlooms

**Title**: Family Heirlooms  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairing**: Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Iroh  
**Summary**: "I still say it looks like a dress."  
**A/N:** Written for 31days, theme: "real men wear pink". Assumes that eventually everyone kisses and makes nice.

* * *

"I still say it looks like a dress."

Zuko's left eye twitched as he glared at Sokka from where he was standing in front of the full length mirror.

"They are the coronation robes that have been passed down through the royal family for generations." Zuko gritted out between clenched teeth. "They're practically sacred!"

"I dunno, Zuko," Aang said conversationally, "Sokka knows a lot about wearing dresses."

Zuko raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Sokka. The warrior's face instantly flushed red. When no explanation appeared to be forthcoming, the nearly-Fire Lord turned to look at Aang.

"On Kyoshi, remember Sokka?" the Avatar said with the chattering enthusiasm that endeared him to so many people.

"Yeah I remember," Sokka grumbled, dropping his eyes and refusing to make contact. "At least those were green! Green is a manly color! _Red_ is practically _pink_!" He glowered at Aang viciously before pointing out defensively, "And _you_ wore that dress too! At your trial!"

"Yeah I did," Aang agreed easily, putting a hand to his stomach as if to shift around some invisible bodice. "Girls wear uncomfortable clothing."

Sokka scratched his head. "So the only man in this room who hasn't worn a dress before is… Iroh?"

All three men looked at the old general, who was hunched over the hem of Zuko's robe, making a futile attempt to straighten them. He said nothing, a faint blush blooming across his cheeks.

Zuko turned back to the mirror. "We will never speak of this again."

* * *

Originally posted 07/01/2007


	8. Spoil the Child

**Title:** Spoil the Child  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph, Xin Fu  
**Summary**: "Are you even an earthbender?"  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme "Size was never so daunting."

* * *

The little girl in front of him came up to his waist – _maybe_, if she were standing on tall sandals, which she wasn't because Xin Fu could clearly see that she was standing on two dirty bare feet.

He hated children.

"You lost, kid?" he asked gruffly, figuring she had probably wandered into his cave and meeting place by accident.

"I've come to sign up for the Earth Rumble tournament." She replied, primly but firmly – the voice of a spoiled child who rarely heard the word no.

"No."

Her ears twitched. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you joking? You'd get mauled kid."

She hadn't blinked since she walked in. Xin Fu could clearly see that her eyes were glazed over, what would have normally be a pretty green instead covered with a milky sheen. He rolled his eyes, not even caring about how she'd found her way to the cave or how she knew what Earth Rumble was to begin with.

He rubbed his chin and bent over to get a good look at her. Perhaps someone was playing a prank on him. "Are you even an earthbender?"

Fast as lighting, the girl's foot twitched. Xin Fu never saw it coming, but the next thing he knew, solid rock had risen up over his feet and anchored him solidly to the ground. Arms wheeling wildly, he just barely managed to keep his balance and prevent himself from face-planting in front of the kid.

"I'll repeat myself," She said confidently, taking a step closer to him while a wide, toothy grin expanded on her face. "I've come to sign up for the Earth Rumble tournament."

Xin Fu gaped at her for a moment before relenting. "Yeah, whatever, see if I care if you get yourself hurt." His tone, however, was shaken, unsure. He'd never been caught off guard before. There was something different about this little girl who could have probably bitten him in the knees.

Gods above, he hated children.

* * *

Originally posted 07/11/2007


	9. Road Games

**Title**: Road Games  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Sokka, Toph, Iroh, and one not quite forgiven Zuko  
**Summary**: "We had to pass the time somehow."  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme "100 questions." This will never happen in canon in a million years, but I can't quite shake the image of Appa flying around with a cheerfully torturous Gaang, Iroh, and a pouting Zuko. Ridiculous fic set post S2 finale.

* * *

"Is it a thing?"

"No."

"Is it a person?"

"Yes."

"Is it someone who is here now?"

"Yes."

"Is it a girl?"

"No."

"Does he have a ponytail?"

"...No."

"Ah-ha! He _used_ to have a ponytail?"

"…Yes."

"Is he a big fat uncle-betraying firebending jerk?"

"Yes!"

"Is it Zuko?"

"Yes!"

Zuko grit his teeth as Toph and Sokka burst into laughter, Toph waving one hand ineffectually as she wiped away tears of mirth with the other. "Okay, okay, me next, I have a good one!"

He glared at his uncle, who shrugged. "We needed to pass the time somehow."

Zuko crossed his arms and felt a headache coming on. "You just _had_ to suggest that game."

* * *

Originally posted 07/18/2007


	10. Second Hand Smoke

**Title**: Second Hand Smoke  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Ozai/Ursa  
**Summary**: He thinks of her the night he takes the throne…  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme "you are second hand smoke". If it's not obvious, this was written last summer, way before the revelation in S3 regarding Ursa's bloodline.

* * *

She was always amazed by his firebending ability. Oddly, her family had risen to nobility without a single firebender among their ranks – oh sure, there was a stray uncle or cousin somewhere in there, but no one in her immediate family was gifted, and she hadn't grown up with it the way he had. The first time he reached over his plate at the dinner table and simply snapped his fingers, setting the candles on the centerpiece alight, she had actually clapped like a child, utterly delighted by something so simple. (She was then mortified at having behaved so immaturely, but he had, unbelievably, been charmed by it.)

It is her Ozai thinks about the night after he's crowned Fire Lord, unable to sleep for the excitement, leaning against the balcony rail outside of his bedroom, observing as much of the tiny nation that he's slipped out from under his brother as he can see from his vantage point.

He's sure she's not dead – she's run off somewhere. There are ships that will get her to some tiny island that belongs to no nation, and from there she can springboard into the Earth Kingdom and hide like some common peasant. He thinks of her living like some poor widow, and curses her stubbornness, and his.

His nation gleams in front of him, and if Ozai squints he imagines he can see the ocean, and even beyond that, the Earth Kingdom, where she surely is. Waiting for him. Watching to see what he'll do.

She was always amazed by his firebending ability, and Ozai spreads his palms, allowing flames to spring up and dance against the night.

He'll cover the world in flames, he thinks, the water tribes, and those tiny islands, and most of all the Earth Kingdom, and she will be amazed.

* * *

Originally posted 07/24/2007


	11. Prince Charming, in a Way

**Title**: Prince Charming, in a Way  
**Rating**: K  
**Characters/Pairings**: Katara/Aang  
**Summary**: Gran Gran told her the stories when she and Sokka were very little…  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme "for I offer my worship only to you".

* * *

She knows the legend - Gran Gran told her and Sokka when they were both very young, when their mother and father still laughed together and when Sokka's boomerang was just a practice one with a blunt edge.

The Avatar, born of all four nations. The Avatar, the bridge between worlds. The Avatar, the one who stood tall and stood against the evils of the world. Gran Gran's stories were huge and epic and most nights Katara fell asleep feeling like her heart was too big for her chest just from the grandness of it all.

Once the Fire Nation raided and their mother died, Sokka and Katara suddenly grew up, and Gran Gran no longer told them stories about the Avatar. On the occasions when the subject was brought up, the Avatar was no longer a gallant hero but one who had left the world, who had abandoned the people who needed him.

Still, that picture never left Katara's head. Even as she assumed more responsibilities for what remained of her tribe, that thought never diminished, never tarnished. Someday the Avatar would return, and she would _be there_, and everything would become safe and wonderful again. Sometimes Katara had to blink back passionate tears just at the thought of it, nearly overwhelmed by her own hope at the idea of the tall, handsome, broad shouldered, all powerful Avatar returning and bringing the world back to rights.

So when she meets the boy in the iceberg, who's silly and fun-loving and who needs to be taught how to catch penguins, she has no idea why he reminds her of Gran Gran stories, and she has no idea why, as she drifts off to sleep that night, her heart feels too big for her chest.

* * *

Originally posted 08/06/2007


	12. Best Face

**Title**: Best Face  
**Rating**: K+  
**Characters/Pairings**: Sokka/Suki  
**Summary**: Neither likes to talk about their experiences during the war much...  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme "your kohled eyes speak a mysterious language."

* * *

Neither one likes to talk about their experiences during the war much – maybe it's because they saw so much or because they lost so much or because they grew up so fast, but all they know is that it seems that they relate to each other a little too well and there's more comfort in silence than in sharing. Neither asks too many questions, especially when it seems like the answers will draw them back to that spring and summer spent fighting against the Fire Nation.

Suki doesn't like to take her makeup off. It's the first thing she puts on in the morning and the last thing she takes off before going to bed at night, and the only time Sokka has ever seen her without it in daylight is when he saw her at the port that led to Ba Sing Se, when she was in another uniform and wasn't allowed to wear her own makeup.

Sokka wants to ask why, but he's not sure if it's something that started before the war or because of it, and neither one wants to touch that subject, so he doesn't ask and instead learns how to apply her makeup himself.

The first time he does it he doesn't ask permission, simply takes the little jar of white paint out of her hand and dips his fingers and completes the job himself, running the black and red around her eyes like he's been doing it his whole life. When he finished she looked at him solemnly through the face that has become more familiar to her than the one she was born with and then her arms were around his neck and her lips were on his and her makeup ended up smeared all over the place and they had to start the whole cycle over, but that was okay because they reached an _understanding_, and that was worth Suki being late for training.

Suki doesn't like to take her makeup off, and Sokka likes to put it on for her. Sokka wants to ask why she prefers the white and red to her own flesh and Suki wants to ask why Sokka cares so much about her makeup to begin with, but neither one ever does. They don't ask each other too many questions of each other, not when it seems the answer will return them to the war effort, especially when there's more comfort to be found in sharing silently instead of sharing out loud.

* * *

Originally posted 08/19/2007


	13. She Smiled Sweetly

**Title**: She Smiled Sweetly  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka/Toph  
**Summary**: Toph is a lady of Earth Kingdom nobility – when it suits her purposes (i.e. she's bored.) Sokka calls her on it.  
**A/N**: Originally written for 31days, theme: be sweet, be false, using my belief that Sokka and Toph are not so much star crossed lovers as much as they are BFF with benefits. Dear god, I adore writing Sokka and Toph. They're so much fun.

* * *

The high-pitched giggle ringing out over the crowd made Sokka cringe. Knowing exactly where it had originated from, he worked his way through the crowd – did the Earth King have to invite him to these stupid things every year? – and spotted her standing at the edge of the ballroom, her fan up over her mouth in a teasing manner.

He approached from behind, a frown on his face, and a moment later Toph sent the boy she'd been flirting with away with the simple wave of her hand and a sickeningly sweet plea for fresh drinks.

"I can feel you staring, Meathead," she called once the boy was safely out of hearing range.

"Why do you do that?" he grumbled, crossing his arms and tapping his foot on the surface of the ballroom – he knew it annoyed her and as he was just as annoyed with her it seemed fair, if immature, play.

"Do what?" She asked, though there was no defense behind the comeback. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Give them hope." Sokka gestured at the nobles milling around the large ballroom. "They don't realize you're making fun of them when you act flirty like that."

"Why Sokka!" Her tone was one of mock scandalization, and she tilted her head towards him in the picture of perfect innocence. "I'm only acting as they would expect of a lady of the Bei Fong clan."

"I've heard you deny the Bei Fong name three times in the last four months and yesterday you splashed through a giant mud puddle in that dress of yours and claimed you much preferred it when people couldn't tell if you were a girl or a boy." Sokka informed her flatly.

She had no response and instead laughed, turning on him a smile – her _real_ smile, that wide, toothy one that took up more of her face than he thought physically possible and not that close-mouthed, thin-lipped simper she'd been using all night. Sokka rolled his eyes and suddenly decided that it was quite fine with him if she wanted to pretend in front of those other boys – none of them were good enough for her true smile anyway.

* * *

Originally posted 08/24/2007


	14. Bed Time Stories

**Title**: Bed Time Stories  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka  
**Summary**: Children are attracted to Sokka  
**A/N**: Written (and the winner of) theavatar100's challenge #98: tell me a story

* * *

It was a simple truth that children were attracted to Sokka. He wasn't sure what it was – whether they related to him or they found him entertaining, but either way the fact of the matter was that when he saw his sister and her husband and their children, the two girls were attached to him at the hip for the entirety of the visit.

Not that he minded – they were cute kids, and they entertained him just as much as he them. The faces they made when he told them stories were hilarious and Sokka was constantly combing through his memory for the next tale to tell to his little nieces, just to hear their surprised gasps and excited squeals.

And Sokka had some _good_ stories – he was a warrior who'd lived through the war, who'd taken on the rebel Jet and who'd fought the Dai Lee and who'd even invaded the Fire Nation itself. His nieces adored him, and more than once declared that they wanted to grow up and be just like their Uncle Sokka.

He was therefore more than a little dismayed when, upon their most recent visit, he learned that he was not the only one who enjoyed telling the girls stories.

They were in their pajamas, waiting expectantly for him when he entered the room and sat on the floor with him. "What story do we want to hear tonight?" he queried.

To his eternal surprise instead of exclamations of "Tell us about the drill!" or "Tell us about the rampaging saber-toothed moon lion!" the response he received was enough to leave Sokka speechless and make Katara cry with laughter.

"Tell us about the time Aunt Suki made you wear a dress!"

* * *

Originally posted 08/26/2007


	15. Time of the Season

**Title: **Time of the Season  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Features Katara and Aang – could be seen as barely there shipping, but I mostly think it's just their friendship.  
**Summary**: It's with relief that Katara and Aang look forward.  
**A/N:** Takes place immediately after season 3, but no spoilers. Written for theavatar100's Challenge #100: the first. And look! I managed to fit two "firsts" into the story! This may be one of my favorite drabbles ever of all time.

* * *

He was out in the gardens when she found him, sitting in a meditative stance though not exactly meditating.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked, barely concealing her panic. She got nervous when Aang was out of her sight for too long, due to lingering injuries taking their time to heal. Finding him out in the windy gardens and not inside resting like he'd said had done nothing to help her anxiety.

"Look," he held something up for her inspection.

It was a leaf, but instead of the dark green that she'd been seeing all year it was multi-colored, deep red on the edges fading into orange and yellow. Katara had never seen such a thing, and her forehead creased as she studied it.

"It's fall," Aang said, wonderment tinged with relief. "Summer's over."

* * *

Originally posted 09/16/2007


	16. Naturally Selected

**Title:** Naturally Selected  
**Rating: **K  
**Character/Pairing**: Momo  
**Summary:** Lemur Angst, wtf.  
**A/N**: Written for theavatar100's Challenge #101: Die Another Day

* * *

The lemur crossed the branches, his eyes anxiously flickering back and forth for his companion. He'd noticed that the other lemur had grown sluggish, content for fruit that was half-rotting just because it was in the lower branches and didn't require as much climbing to reach.

Now his companion was gone completely. Despite scouring the abandoned temple he couldn't find her anywhere, and finally gave up. Wherever she had crawled off to, she didn't want to be found.

Somewhat disappointed, he bit into a peach and sat back, waiting for new friends to play with.

* * *

Originally posted 09/26/2007


	17. Homeward Bound

**Title**: Homeward Bound  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Katara/Aang  
**Summary**: It's not until the journey is over that Katara considers…  
**A/N**: Written before S3 started, but I think it holds up okay. Originally written for 31days, theme: you are my country.

* * *

It wasn't until after the defeat of the Fire Lord that Katara suddenly realized that not once, never in the entire journey, did she stop and wonder when she'd be able to go home again. Isn't that the point of most journeys? To get through the journey and return home, exhausted and accomplished and proud?

Sure, she'd enjoyed her time in the North Pole (brawling with Master Pakku notwithstanding), and she'd been happy to travel with the warriors from the Southern Tribe (again, circumstances regarding Aang and her father notwithstanding) but even during those times when she'd been surrounded by what was familiar to her did Katara think that she'd like to stay there and stay that way.

It's easy to explain away while she was on her journey – after all, her focus was on Aang and on the Fire Lord and on the war – but now the journey is over and she's technically free to go wherever she wants, and still her heart is not wondering when she'll see the South Pole again.

Turning her head, she sees Aang sleeping beside her, cocooned safely on one of Appa's paws, and thinks that maybe the Air Nomads were onto something.

* * *

Originally posted 09/30/2007


	18. The Useful Daughter

**Title**: The Useful Daughter  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Ty Lee  
**Summary**: Ty Lee finally gets what she's always wanted from her parents.  
**A/N**: Written for superlazygirl's birthday back in November, and posted for 31days, theme: neglected souls. Was written after I saw the Beach and contains sort of maybe vague spoilers for thereabouts.

* * *

When Ty Lee goes home again, for the short break between the spring and summer semesters of school, she makes two realizations:

The first comes after almost a week at their home, when she realizes that her parents have not mixed her up with her sisters. Not once, even though the other six of them could accidentally be called any name that came out of either parent's mouth at any given time – it's not even uncommon for her father to refer to her oldest sister by her mother's name. But not Ty Lee. Not once. They know exactly who she is, every time they look at her, every time they see her.

The second comes not long after, when, curiosity piqued, she actually starts paying attention to her parents, whom she has long dismissed from teaching her anything she considers significant. When they speak to her, have conversations with her, they love hearing about her adventures at the Academy – as long as they involve Azula.

It doesn't take long for her to make the connection between these two realizations, and when she does revulsion curls in her stomach, dimming her aura and ruining the rest of her time off. It is with distaste that she realizes that she has gotten what she wanted: she has become someone special in her parent's eyes – but only because she is friends with Azula. Her parent's know who she is now, but only for whom she knows in turn.

Summer solstice falls during the short vacation, and her family goes to the typical celebrations; the festivals and feasts and gaudy displays dedicated to Agni and his burning sun. It's during one of these celebrations that Ty Lee sees it: her destiny as she knows it. The animals shriek and roar, the jugglers amaze, and the acrobats fly through the air in a way that surely not even the airbenders could have achieved, if they had still been around.

That's when Ty Lee knows that her parents will always know which of their daughters she is, but not for the reasons they think.

'_Ty Lee_?' she tries out in her head, mentally imitating her father's smooth baritone. '_She's the one who ran away and joined the circus_.'

* * *

Originally posted 11/07/2007


	19. Falling In

**Title**: Falling In  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Iroh, White Lotus Society  
**Summary**: Iroh's ascension to the master of the White Lotus.  
**A/N**: Originally written for 31 days, theme: piece by piece by piece. I wrote this only a couple episodes into Season 3, and even with the final we still don't know much about the White Lotus Society. I kinda speculated about it, and this fic assumes that the White Lotus Society sort of forms a hierarchy by both granting pieces to players and letting them earn new pieces by beating one another. I also assumed that Iroh had become involved with them even before his defeat at Ba Sing Se and his subsequent spirit journey.

* * *

The first piece that had been granted to him was the Common Burdock, a simple piece, almost an annoyance with the way they stubbornly clung to cloth. The message had been clear: he would work his way to the top like any new member of the Society.

In response he had taken the Daylily, a piece he had felt more suitable to his station: one who opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. It had tied in with his status as a master firebender, he felt, and he had nearly shaken with pride as he fingered the cool tile, sure he had sent a positive message.

The next piece granted to him had been Horseradish: an eye-watering irritant. It had been the closest Iroh had ever come to giving up Pai Sho, for up until that point in his life no one had dared to show him so little respect.

The slight had irritated him just as much, and so he became aggressive, snapping up the Magnolia just to show them: he would not let them chew away at him, like insects crawling across the surface of a flower.

The cycle continued for many years, and Iroh struggled even as he gained power and prestige in the Society – it was power and prestige he'd had to earn, that had not been simply granted to him like his position as a royal prince. At one point the Society had sent him a Mirabilis tile, and accused him of being nothing more than an ornament, and that's when Iroh knew he would have truly prove his worth once and for all.

The Daylily and the Magnolia were tossed aside, and Iroh learned the worth of other cultures. The year he studied the water tribes and their simple, flowing movements, he also took the Sagittaria.

Before the next full moon the servants presented him with a gilded box, and after sending them away Iroh opened it reverentially.

Inside lay a single, plain, white lotus tile, and Iroh knew he had arrived.

* * *

Originally published 12/01/2007


	20. Spend All My Time

**Title**: Spend All My Time  
**Rating**: K+  
**Character/Pairing**: Suki (Vaguely Sokka/Sukish?)  
**Summary**: Suki has never felt so cold in her life.  
**A/N:** Originally written for 31 days, theme: give me something to look forward to. It's hard to publish fic that's proven out of canon, but here you go. I'd written this before we learned of Suki's fate in Boiling Rock, and had assumed she'd been left behind in Ba Sing Se.

* * *

It's summer in Ba Sing Se and Suki has never felt so cold in her life.

She has no idea what's happened to Sokka and Katara but she knows they're still out there, judging by the way Azula taunts her on the occasions when she comes to visit. Originally the thought had given her hope - Sokka and Katara had escaped, and they couldn't have gotten far without Appa, and if what Azula and the guards were saying was true and Aang was truly dead then they would need all the allies they could get. Surely they would come for her.

So she sits in her cell, surrounded by the earthbenders, and waits.

Nobody ever comes but Azula and the servants, and then even Azula stops coming.

Sometimes late at night she can hear the other girls whispering in their cells - Suki has no idea why she's kept separate from them - and sometimes she fantasizes about suddenly developing earthbending abilities, and thus having no need of Sokka or her hope that he will come to help her.

Mostly, however, she sits in her cell and shivers in the night.

* * *

Originally published 12/05/2007


	21. If I Fall Through

**Title**: If I Fall Through  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka, Toph  
**Summary**: Sokka is reminded of the status quo.  
**A/N**: Originally written for 31 days, theme: this universe we cannot control. Silliness to round out this update.

* * *

"You fell," Toph remarked easily, coming upon him lying at the bottom of the canyon, various rocks and other debris lying around him. He wasn't much concerned with the earth around him; it was the earth on top of him that he was really worried about.

"Yeah." He replied, blinking at the blurry form towering over him. He'd been hunting, he remembered. It had been afternoon, and he'd been trying to crawl across a little ledge to scout when it had given way beneath him.

"Honestly," Toph sighed, kneeling gently to pat his side and confirm the broken ribs she thought she could make out, "You're the only person I know who can take on ten firebenders and still get his butt kicked by a pile of dirt."

"Can't control the world," Sokka shrugged. The concussion had done wonders for his temper, and he was thinking that fate was a funny thing, really.

Toph sighed again and with two sharp stabs of her arms had cleared the rocks away from him. "No," she agreed. "But _I_ can."

* * *

Originally published 01/01/2008


	22. Hobbies

**Title**: Hobbies  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka, Toph  
**Summary**: Everyone needs a hobby.  
**A/N**: Originally written for 31 days, theme: desire of the artist to express himself. Set in S3, no spoilers.

* * *

Sokka frowned and leaned away from the painting, eyeing it carefully. "It's missing something…" he mused, tapping the end of the brush to his chin thoughtfully.

Aang and Zuko were meditating. Katara was cleaning water for dinner. He was ignored.

Finally, a little voice piped up from the floor beneath him. "Needs more green."

Sokka blinked, tilted his head to one side, and exclaimed, "That's it!"

When he pulled back once again, he licked his lips and grinned. "Perfect!"

"Ehh," came Toph's voice again, cool and collected and utterly unconvinced. "I think it needs more purple."

"You're crazy," Sokka argued, still examining his painting. "The green brings out Appa's eyes perfectly."

"I still say purple." Toph insisted, and with a sigh Sokka picked up his brush and palate.

Just as he was about to touch the brush to the painting, however, a thought occurred to him. With a fierce scowl he directed his most irritated glare at the blind girl. "Will you quit _doing_ that?"

* * *

Originally posted 01/15/08


	23. In the Court

**Title**: In the Court  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka/Toph  
**Summary**: Sokka seeks approval.  
**A/N**: Originally written for 31 days, theme: it's sane enough what I'm asking. Spoilers for the cutest scene in the Firebending Masters.

* * *

"But Toph," Sokka complained as they stumbled their way through the field. "I've already met your parents. They don't like me."

"Of course they don't," Toph shrugged. "But I don't care if they don't like you." She was a good ten paces ahead of him, and utterly unconcerned with whether or not he was keeping up.

"You said I needed their approval before we could get married." Sokka argued. He'd been having nightmares all week about asking permission from her father.

"No," Toph's reply was curt. "I said you needed approval."

The mountain rose up in front of him, and Sokka eyed the mouth of the cave apprehensively. Underground had never been a pleasant place for him, Toph's presence or no.

She was leading him still, staying far enough that he couldn't touch her but still close enough that he could still make out her silhouette against what little light was filtering through the cave. Abruptly, she stopped, and he stopped with her.

"I said you needed approval," Toph said gently. "I didn't say from _who_."

Sokka tried his best not to jump out of his skin as he felt something skimming his feet. He squinted in the darkness and barely made out the snout that was sniffing his feet and ankles gently.

He looked back up in Toph's general direction. "You don't want me to sing, do you?"

* * *

Originally posted 01/16/08


	24. Let Passion Rule

**Title**: Let Passion Rule  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka/Suki, Azula.  
**Summary**: There is one thought at the forefront of his mind.  
**A/N**: Originally written after The Day of Black Sun aired, for 31days, theme: willingly walking into a wall. Written well before the Boiling Rock, obviously.

* * *

A lot went wrong that day, a lot happened for him to regret, but ever since the day of the eclipse there has been one main thought at the forefront of his mind.

There were things he'd come to expect from Azula, and while it bothers Sokka that he fell for the same trick he'd warned Toph about, it bugs him even more that he _still_ doesn't know what happened to Suki.

The fact that Azula knows and he doesn't creates a raw, rotting worry in his gut, and he's been waiting: he'll find out, no matter what it takes, and he'll do what he has to in order to make sure Suki is safe once again.

That is how he ends up where he is. If he glanced down he would see his reflection in the shining black of his sword: his crossed eyebrows and fierce frown and something else, something different that's never been there before and is making Katara shriek his name and making Azula look at him with new appreciation in her eyes.

"I asked you," he says slowly, his hands steady upon the handle of the sword at Azula's throat, "where Suki is."

Azula slowly smiles at him, the corners of her lips curling upwards, and she's not going to tell him, he knows that _she won't tell him_ and Sokka sucks in a deep breath and lets out a mangled yell that doesn't sound like him at all, but spirits above, his hands are still steady on that sword.

* * *

Originally posted 03/27/2008


	25. One Faithful Harp

**Title**: One Faithful Harp  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: The Hippies  
**Summary**: How they find the war.  
**A/N**: Written for theavatar100's Challenge #118: Swan Song. Because I love the hippies, I decided to do something horrible to them.

* * *

They discover the war with the Fire Nation early that summer, when they're caught up in a raid along the eastern Earth Kingdom coast while they're searching for their never ending rainbow.

They've found a rainbow of sorts: the raid burns orange, red, and blue, and while everybody runs for cover and cries and shrieks, in the middle of what passes for the tiny village's square stands Chong and Lily and their assorted family.

"Should we go?" Lily asks, her eyes following not the people running for cover but the plumes of smoke crawling into the sky and the pretty way they make the stars behind them hazy and dreamy.

"No," Chong says firmly, unshouldering his pipa and letting his fingers dance easily over the strings. Someone must be responsible for mourning this place, for peacefully sending off the burning souls and scorching earth. He plucks an easy tune, slow and uplifting.

The smoke becomes stronger, and soon overtakes even the bright glare of the moon above. There are men coming towards them. Some are riding animals. Others have flames at their fingertips.

Chong plays on.

* * *

Originally posted 04/09/2008


	26. Unguided

**Title**: Unguided  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Katara, Sokka  
**Summary**: After they lose their mother.  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme: when a woman learns to walk, she's not dependent any more. Set pre-series, in the aftermath of the raid on the Southern Water Tribe that took Sokka and Katara's mother.

* * *

For the first two weeks after the raid – after the loss, after the funeral, after the inevitable cleaning up and packing away – Katara curled into her bedroll facing the corner of their little tent and refused to move or talk or even generally acknowledge anyone else's existence.

No one wanted to bother her; they were all grieving in their own ways and by silent, mutual agreement they decided to give her time.

It wasn't until Sokka crawled into the blankets next to her one evening – because it was the best way to stay warm in the south – that she really seemed to wake up and notice him again.

"Ugh, Sokka, you smell," she muttered hoarsely at him, her voice clogged and a grimace on her face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, turning into the pillow. "I'm out of clean socks."

"Where's Dad?" she asked.

"Helping repair the boats from the last hunting expedition." He blinked sleepily into his pillow, wondering why she was asking.

"Then where's Gran Gran?" she continued.

"Helping to prepare the meat from the last hunting expedition." Sokka answered patiently. It had been necessary to go almost immediately after the raid; the Fire Nation had burned all of their supplies.

Katara sat up and looked at him. He looked right back at her, and a long, silent moment between siblings who'd both faced the same loss ensued. Finally, Katara heaved a huge sigh and held out her hands. "Give me your socks. And the rest of your laundry."

"Right now?" he asked in confusion, sitting up and reaching under the blankets for his feet.

Katara wrinkled her nose. "I'm not getting any sleep with you smelling like that."

* * *

Originally posted 05/24/08


	27. Spring Thaw

**Title**: Spring Thaw  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph/Sokka  
**Summary**: Spring melts the ice from the mountains.  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme: fate, like the wind, swept it away. General Tokka, no spoilers.

* * *

"It's cold," she grumbled, half complaining as she waded further into the water. "And it's moving so fast."

"It's the spring thaw," Sokka explained, and suddenly he moved into her sight by stepping into the water, blurry, but a definite form for her to focus on. "The snow melts off the top of the mountains and flows down the rivers into the ocean."

Toph didn't respond, even though she tilted her head in the direction of the mountains so far into the horizon that Sokka couldn't see them and imagined she could understand how the mountains felt, melting away into the sea.

* * *

Originally posted on 06/03/08


	28. Stay in the Shade

**Title**: Stay in the Shade  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: The Earth King, Ursa  
**Summary**: They meet on the coast.  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme: I appeal to your scratches and your tattered fur. Blatant speculation, inspired by a Tegaki.

* * *

They met because Bosco had wandered away from him in some little port off the coast. After a frantic search, he found his pet nuzzling up to an older woman in the alleys that ran behind the shops in the middle stretch of town.

"I like your bear," she said easily, scratching Bosco behind the ears.

"He likes you too," the former Earth King responded, his heart pounding with relief. "He knows who the good people are. I couldn't travel without him."

"It'll be safer to travel now," she responded, finally looking up from the bear to make eye contact with him. Her amber eyes had wrinkles that turned up when she smiled. The Earth King shuddered; there was something strikingly familiar about them, though there was a sense of kindness that he did not recall.

"Have you heard?" she asked, clearly relieved. "The war is over."

He bit his tongue, because his first instinct whenever someone mentioned the war was still to respond, "_What war?_" Instead, he sighed and suddenly remembered his empty throne back in Ba Sing Se. "I guess I could go home."

Bosco was practically purring in her arms. She laughed like she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Most people _want_ to go home."

"I didn't leave by choice," he explained, not sure why he was suddenly telling a total stranger this. Nobody but Bosco had been privy to his story before. "And now I'm wondering if I'm not better off."

"And here I thought I was the only one," she responded cheerfully, standing up from her crouch and patting Bosco's fur off of her skirt. "Come in," she said, "and I'll make you some tea. I learned how from one of the best tea makers in the world."

"Why not," he agreed, following her through the back door mostly so he could try to resolve this nagging familiarity.

"So where's home for you?" she called over her shoulder, readying the water and spark rocks.

"Ba Sing Se," he answered, his eyes following the pattern in the orange rug on the ground. "Have you been there?"

She dropped her kettle. "My family has had poor luck in your city," she replied, almost apologetically.

Bosco snorted happily as he settled next to the former king. He petted the bear absently before responding. "So did I."

* * *

Originally posted 12/03/08


	29. I'll Take What You Will Give

**Title**: I'll Take (What You Will Give)  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka/Suki  
**Summary**: On the trip home, Sokka finds getting alone time on a crowded boat does not work to his benefit.  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme: our breaths in winter. Set post-series.

* * *

He knows they're getting close to home by the chill in the air and the mists on the water. Sometimes Sokka closes his eyes and turns towards the glare of the sun, sure that he'll open them to find his bright little village in front of him, Gran Gran waving impatiently because she has dinner waiting…

Sokka spends a lot of time imagining things lately; ever since their close call with Zuko, Suki has halted their time alone together, and that's only gone double since they boarded the tiny ship home with his father tribe and her sister warriors.

Naturally, his imagination pales in comparison to the real thing. When Sokka finds Suki standing at the bow of the ship, by her lonesome for the first time in what seems like forever, he has no problem limping up behind her and effectively pinning her in place by wrapping his hands around hers where they're gripping the rail.

"It seems like forever since we've been alone," he murmurs in her ear, his hot breath fogging instantly in the cold air.

"We're not alone," Suki responds promptly. "Umiko and Ty Lee are less than twenty steps away."

"You know what I mean," Sokka wheedles, letting his numb nose slip under the edge of her scarf before placing a hot kiss under the angle of her jaw. Despite her protests, Suki doesn't stop him. Instead she braces herself against the side of the ship, keeping her eyes ahead on the sea at all times. "I miss you. You have to miss me. You can't tell me I'm not having an effect on you."

"That's not true," she objects weakly.

"I can tell you're lying." His tone is sing-song but his actions serious as he curls her hair behind her ear and leans in close over her.

"You've been hanging out with Toph too much," Suki accuses, turning to face him and keeping their bodies pressed close.

"Maybe." He reaches up and taps a finger against her nose. "But I can't see your breath in this cold air. You're telling me I don't leave you breathless?"

Suki rolls her eyes and puts her hand in his face. "Sometimes a girl just doesn't want to waste it." Then, light-footed as ever, she pushes around him and heads back below deck. He hears her greet the girls, and Ty Lee's cheerful response.

Sokka groans, leaning hard against the railing, and closes his eyes. "Well that's not how I imagined that going…"

* * *

Originally posted 01/01/09


	30. The Beauty of Uncertainty

**Title**: The Beauty of Uncertainty  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Katara/Aang  
**Summary**: Katara isn't sure when their first kiss occurred.  
**A/N**: Written for 31days, theme: I'll Kiss You Awake. My take on the infamous did they or didn't they Cave of Two Lovers kiss.

* * *

Katara and Aang's first kiss may or may not have happened: she's still not sure if she and Aang kissed in the Cave of Two Lovers.

At the time she thought they had: the light had gone out, and they'd been so close she could feel Aang's breath on her chin, and there'd barely been half a moment to consider that he wasn't even tall enough to reach –

And then there'd been light.

Katara's heart had leapt, her eyes had flown open, and that's when she'd realized that the light was coming from the crystals lining the ceiling of the cave. She'd been so excited to escape that she hadn't even thought to question what had just happened.

Sometime later – much later, when she no longer feared what loving him might mean – the question of the cave becomes much more important. Something like their first kiss seems like it should have proper respect paid to it.

On the occasions that she questions Aang, however, he blushes – still, after all this time, he always blushes – and answers, "Why does it matter? Love led the way after all."

Whenever he says this, Katara suspects that he must not be sure either.

* * *

Originally posted 01/06/09


	31. Diplomacy

**Title**: Diplomacy  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Zuko, Iroh  
**Summary**: He may be Fire Lord, but there are still lessons to learn.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "enlightenment." Set-post series, with basic spoilers about the fat of Zuko and Iroh.

* * *

_enlighten_  
-verb  
1. to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge to

* * *

Almost immediately after the tea shop is reopened, Iroh puts Zuko back to work, making him brew the tea and serve their friends on their frequent visits. When Zuko balks, protesting that his tea is not nearly the quality of his uncle's (and that he just cannot bear Mai's teasing anymore) Iroh grins at him cheerily and asks him to put on a pot of Ceylon.

When Zuko loses his temper soon after – and it is only a matter of time, because honestly, figuring out reparations and peace treaties are simpler concepts than measuring the balance between light and heavy in Ceylon tea – and demands to know why Iroh is making him do this, the old man gently takes the (now boiling over) pot from him and sets it down.

"You will find, Zuko," he says casually, stirring and sniffing the tea to determine if there is any chance in salvaging it, "That as a Fire Lord, there are times that you can't just tell people what to do; you have to convince them that they actually _want_ to do it. You have to make them think that it was their idea first. And in my experience," he pulls a face, and then dumps the pot out the nearest window, "being able to serve a good cup of tea is the first step in that process."

Zuko blushes and looks to the floor. Iroh smiles encouragingly. "Maybe Ceylon was too complicated," he muses, his attention wandering back towards the barrels at the back of the room.

Shaking his head, Zuko wonders why he's ever surprised when his uncle is right anymore.

* * *

Originally posted 04/27/09


	32. By the Seventh Round

**Title**: By the Seventh Round  
**Rating**: T  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph/Sokka  
**Summary**: It's a fight for superiority.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "jousting."

* * *

_joust_  
-noun  
1. a combat in which two knights on horseback attempted to unhorse each other with blunted lances.  
2. a personal competition or struggle

* * *

It's never just sweet, simple kisses between them – it's always a fight for superiority. He's generally used to letting her have her way, but something about Toph awakens the competitive spirit within him. It could have been the way she wrapped her tiny hands around his collar and pulled him down to her level, or it could have been the way she growled against him or it could have been how she pushed him back against the wall, merely yanking him down harder when he gasps and tries to straighten up.

This is how it always goes, when things spiral completely out of control. She kicks, he bites, and in the mornings when they wake up, exhausted and marked up but entirely saturated in satisfaction, neither one is sure who won, exactly.

They resolve to pay closer attention, next time.

* * *

Originally posted 04/28/09


	33. Radiator

**Title**: Radiator  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph, Zuko  
**Summary**: Zuko suddenly noticed that Toph was spending an inordinate amount of time with him.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "frozen."

* * *

_frozen_  
-adjective  
1. frigid; very cold

* * *

When they got well past the Earth Kingdom's borders, down by the Southern Air Temple that nobody really laid claim to anymore, Zuko suddenly noticed that Toph was spending an inordinate amount of time with him.

He noticed because she _wouldn't shut up._

"And I gotta say, I really think you dropped the ball on that one. Well," Toph swiftly amended after a thought, "you could have made it worse by dumping tea all over him. Then you could have insulted both the king _and_ your uncle. So, Princess," she patted Zuko on the shoulder with what was supposed to have been a comforting gesture, though he barely noticed with all the effort he was putting into clutching white-knuckled to the rails of the ship while gritting his teeth, "at least you didn't do that?"

"Thank Agni," Zuko finally muttered at her, still refusing to look at her. She'd been a thorn in his side going on a week now, for no reason comprehendible to him. She was probably bored. It wasn't the first time he'd been a target of Toph's when she'd had nothing better to do.

* * *

Toph smiled in satisfaction and took the tiniest step towards Zuko – as close as she could get to him without making bodily contact. He didn't notice anyway, as he was too busy staring into the ocean and seething.

She'd never been this far south before. It was freezing down here – she'd spent a day or two nursing her feet, debating whether or not she should borrow a pair of shoes, before she'd discovered that she had a very reliable source of heat right in front of her.

It was coming off of him in waves as Toph discussed some of his more embarrassing moments as Fire Lord. Contentedly, she tilted her head in his direction – even her nose was freezing – and decided that tomorrow she'd tease him about Mai.

* * *

Originally posted 05/28/09


	34. Lesson Planning

**Title**: Lesson Planning  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Iroh, Zuko  
**Summary**: Zuko doesn't get it.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "vexation." Set pre-series, during Zuko's exile.

* * *

_vexation_  
-noun  
1. something that vexes; a cause of annoyance; nuisance

* * *

Zuko's just not getting it.

Iroh studies his Pai Sho board, not watching as Zuko spars with the guards, knowing that Zuko's stance is incorrect and that he's breathing the wrong way, but that's okay. Zuko's struggle with firebending has never been the source of Iroh's irritation anyway.

Iroh's main problem is that despite the fact that he's been on this boat with Zuko for over a year now, he can't make the boy understand that there is more to life than Ozai's will. Zuko wants his honor back more than anything, and constantly resists Iroh's lessons in how Ozai is not the only one who can bestow it.

Occasionally Iroh wants to point out that he himself does not have much honor, not going by Ozai's ridiculously high standards, and exactly how honorable does Zuko consider him?

He never does, however, because a little part of him already knows the answer.

So Iroh studies his Pai Sho board and calls out instructions to Zuko, knowing full well the boy is wrong, and tries to think of new ways to reach him.

* * *

Originally posted 06/04/09


	35. Curiosity

**Title**: Curiosity  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph-centric, Aang and Co.  
**Summary**: It just doesn't appeal to her.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "hug." Set right after Bitter Work.

* * *

_hug_  
-verb  
1. to clasp tightly in the arms, esp. with affection; embrace.

* * *

At first, she wonders if it's her upbringing. Then, she wonders if it's _their_ upbringing.

Either way, she doesn't get these three, and how easily they can throw their arms around one another. Toph's been pulled into a couple of these group hugs, but mostly she stands back and watches them carefully – it's not unusual for Aang's waterbending lessons to end with a hug, and Katara regularly embraces Sokka for the littlest things, like savaging some berries she's especially fond of.

It's not that she really minds. She just doesn't _get_ it.

At the end of another grueling earthbending session, Aang looks downcast. To be fair, she can't see how he looks, exactly, but she can feel it coming off of him in waves: total disappointment, utter discouragement. He's still struggling with earthbending. As sure as she is that the problem is his as a student and not hers as a teacher, part of her wants to make him feel better. Part of her is wondering if she should just hug him, like she knows the Sugar Queen would do.

"Toph? Are you okay?" Aang voices the question weakly, breaking through her reverie. "You have a weird look on her face."

Instead of hugging him, she digs her heel into the dirt, tossing him off the rock he'd been perched on and into the air.

"Get some sleep!" she yells after him. "You'll need it for tomorrow!"

Maybe it's her upbringing. She's suspects it's not his.

* * *

Originally posted 06/04/09


	36. Nightlight

**Title**: Nightlight  
**Rating**: K+  
**Character/Pairing**: Toph/Sokka  
**Summary**: They indulge each other.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "rest."

* * *

_rest_  
-verb _(used without object)_  
1. to refresh oneself, as by sleeping, lying down, or relaxing.

* * *

She has her own room in the Fire Lord's palace. And it's not just a guest room either – she has a room that only she ever gets to use, that only her stuff is kept in, and that Zuko keeps clean for her – but that doesn't change the fact that she never sleeps in that bed.

Zuko probably knows but she's never bothered to tell him and he still keeps the room for her. Instead of sleeping she readies herself for bed and creeps out, down the hall, counting the doorways until she finds the one she's really interested in.

At first she blamed it on the fact that they all used to sleep together, in a little circle, even if she was in her own tent. That was her excuse, as Zuko and Mai reunited and Aang and Katara wanted more privacy, for seeking him out.

And he still indulges her too; when she finds his doorway and knocks – just once, no need for anymore because she can tell from his heartbeat, even behind the door, that he knows its her – Sokka lets her in with a soft chuckle and the same question, every time. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Couldn't sleep," Toph confirms, crawling into his bed and scooting into the middle and wrapping up in most of the blanket. He used to complain, but he doesn't anymore because it just means moving closer to her in order to make his own space.

She indulges him back, when in the morning he insists that he only puts up with her because they sleep like rocks when they're together this way and she doesn't punch his lights out.

* * *

Originally posted 06/04/09


	37. Kin

**Title**: Kin  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Bumi, the Earth King  
**Summary**: The other Earth King caught up with him.  
**A/N**: A friend wanted a fic with the Earth Kings. Spoilers for the end of the series.

* * *

He didn't even realize people were looking for him until the other earth king caught up with him. Kuei had been minding his business, trying to cover the distance between small towns in the southern earth kingdom in a single day – hoping to avoid camping out, again – when the ground rose up and split, sending him and Bosco flying.

When he finally gathered his wits – something he'd become better at, living on the road – he spat the weeds from his mouth, cleared the dirt from his eyes, and looked up (and up, and up) into the imposing face of an impossibly old man.

"There you are!" The old man sounded downright gleeful. Kuei wondered how he possibly knew him. "You know I had a bet with Jun over who'd find you first?"

"Uh." Kuei finally picked himself up. "Jun?"

"And it's really a good thing I found you when I did, because I left rebuilding Omashu to Toph for now, but I don't trust her not to lay boobytraps, especially once she finds the ones I left for her – "

At the words "rebuilding Omashu", Kuei felt his blood run cold. He'd heard his generals and advisors complaining about the man, but there was no way this could possibly be…

"King Bumi?" he asked warily, and was rewarded with a warm handshake (that left his entire arm aching.)

"My brother king!" Bumi beamed at him, their hands still clasped. Kuei was sure that he could not take his hand back even if he wanted it. "The Avatar is calling you back to fulfill your duties in Ba Sing Se. We have a lot to get done. Now!" he pulled away, clapped his hands, and looked around. "First things first!" he announced, disregarding the Earth King entirely. "Where is Bosco? I have a very important message for him from Momo."

* * *

Originally posted 08/21/09


	38. Birthday Greetings

**Title**: Birthday Greetings  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Sokka, Toph  
**Summary**: Toph gives Sokka a birthday present.  
**A/N**: Written for a friend's birthday.

* * *

The Bei Fong family, Sokka knew, did not exactly believe in moderation. And Toph, Sokka knew, was not above expending her parent's resources in the pursuit of pleasure, whether it was hers or her closest friends.

So he was not surprised by Toph's declaration that she had brought a birthday gift for him, all the way from Gaoling, and he was not surprised by the large trunk that her two footmen pulled from the coach and placed in front of him. Upon opening the trunk, he _was_ mildly surprised at the sight of a mountain of ice and the single slice of perfectly square cake. It was sitting in the middle of a large, gilded platter, and Sokka's mouth watered as he stared at it.

"Are those… fresh strawberries?" he asked faintly, surprised most of all by the fact that Toph had remembered his favorite fruit.

"They're in season." Toph beamed. "I made my dad import them and had the finest chef in Gaoling create the cake for you."

It was dark, and dense, crafted with chocolate and almonds with a pile of strawberries on top. Sokka licked his lips and gingerly lifted the plate, inspecting it. "This looks – wow."

"Yeah, well," She rubbed the back of her neck, still wearing a lopsided grin. "Don't get too excited. Besides, there was more cake there originally, but we had an accident on the trip out."

"What happened?" Sokka looked up, slightly alarmed.

"They didn't put a lock on the trunk." Toph burped. "Happy birthday, Sokka."

* * *

Originally posted 4/21/2010


	39. Interior Design

**Title**: Interior Design  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Mai/Zuko  
**Summary**: It's apparently considered a privilege to design the royal apartments.  
**A/N**: Written for a friend who gave me the prompt "flame retardant"

* * *

One of her chores as Fire Lady is redesigning and redecorating the Royal Chambers to suit her and Zuko's needs. Zuko, rather stupidly, at first refers to it as a privilege until she cocks an eyebrow and he very wisely backpedals.

Today she and the Keeper of the House are looking at fabrics to replace the curtains in their bedroom. She and the maid are discussing which would be most suitable when the maid tells her frankly, "Honestly, my lady, before you make a decision you should think about the functional role that the curtains will play in your bedroom."

Mai considers this. She's pretty sure that the Keeper is asking if the curtains will be used to block the sun or trap the heat or only for decoration, but what Mai is thinking about is Zuko.

_Zuko stalking into the bedroom, his voice raised and his arms flailing as he rages, "Did you_ see _what Toph did to my garden?"_

_Zuko pacing through the apartment as he mumbles his speech to himself over and over under his breath, wringing a handkerchief nervously between his hands. "The honor of our ancestors - our historical honor - no, no, the honor of our ancestors..."_

_Zuko, swaying back and forth as he attempts to focus on her from the foot of the bed. _"No, _I did not open Uncle's good wine. Maybe_ you _opened Uncle's good wine."_

"Nothing expensive," Mai finally says. "Nothing that needs to be imported. And nothing that will cost much to be replaced."

"My lady?" The maid raises her eyebrows, clearly surprised at Mai's frugality.

"Did you know," Mai asks quietly, her eyes straying across the bolts of fabric tossed over the chairs and stools, "that firebenders can hiccup flames when they're drunk?"

* * *

Originally posted 5/23/2010


	40. Which and Every Who

**Title**: Which and Every Who  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Katara/Aang  
**Summary**: She is his one and only, the beginning and the end for Aang.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "omega." Future!fic. Have I ever mentioned how really really fascinated I am by the dynamic between the Avatar and his loves?

* * *

_omega_  
-noun  
1. the last of any series; the end.

* * *

She tries not to be a jealous lover, once the passion and urgency of her teenage years passes. It's too exhausting to maintain. There are too many towns and cities with too many pretty girls who are in love with the Avatar and what he's done.

Her own knee-jerk reactions help less than Aang's own words and actions, which only confirm the depth of his feelings for her; the way he says her name, smiles at her, or curls an arm around her waist to pull her close only proves to Katara in ways he will never have to spell out that she is his one and only, the beginning and the end for him.

No, those silly girls are easy to brush off – half of them, she suspects, wouldn't know Aang's name if it didn't have 'Avatar' stuck to the front of it.

The others, they're a little bit harder to shrug away. They don't know Aang's name either, but Aang knows theirs; she can hear him murmuring them when he's deep in dreams – when he's not Aang, when he's only the Avatar, the reincarnation of another soul who has lived a thousand lifetimes and has loved just as many.

Katara's not the one and only; Katara's not the beginning or the end. She tries not to be jealous.

* * *

Originally posted 7/6/2010


	41. A Countenance More in Sorrow

**Title**: A Countenance More in Sorrow  
**Rating**: K  
**Character/Pairing**: Iroh  
**Summary**: He attracts a companion in the spirit world.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "journey." Specified Iroh's spirit journey.

* * *

_Journey_  
-noun  
1. passage or progress from one stage to another

* * *

The spirit world is quiet in a way that Iroh had never realized was possible, until he experienced it. It is a silence so complete that it becomes a noise of its own, an eerie ringing that he realizes is his ears filling in the empty space that the silence creates.

Early on he is joined by a dragon who curls around him and huffs in irritation: "You are not who I thought you were. What are you doing here?"

Iroh stays calm; he sees himself in the dragon's eyes. There is that same serene sense of authority, that they are both holding back considerable power and are entirely at ease with their abilities. His own face is reflected back at him, each mirroring determination and longing. "I am on a journey for my son."

"Not many have the ability to cross into the spirit world," the dragon observes, twisting and winding around the trees. "And even fewer have the nerve. Many who manage the crossing see things that haunt them, or drive them mad. Will you live through your journey, and accept a lifetime of nightmares?"

Iroh shrugs. "I have already faced my worst nightmare. I am not afraid."

* * *

Originally posted 7/9/2010


	42. To the Letter

**Title**: To the Letter  
**Rating**: K+  
**Character/Pairing**: Zuko/Toph  
**Summary**: Toph obeys directions to the letter, and yet Zuko is still asked to speak to her. It goes about as well as you'd imagine.  
**A/N**: Written for the alphabet challenge I did on my LJ, where I was given a prompt for every letter of the alphabet. My prompt for this drabble was "unorthodox". I've never written Toph/Zuko, but it turns out that Toph behaves the exact same way no matter who I pair her with, so I think it turned out okay.

* * *

_Unorthodox_  
-adjective  
1. not conventional in belief, behavior, custom, etc

* * *

Jie, his Keeper of the House, is the one who wakes him up that morning, and Zuko can't even bring himself to be angry at being woken so rudely. Frankly, the woman knows his household better than he does, and has a much better idea of what makes it run. Zuko is glad to leave her to it; the way she talks, sometimes it seems more complicated than his position of Fire Lord.

"You have to talk to her." Zuko blinks up at into the maid's displeased face.

There is no question who "her" referred to - only a question about what, exactly, he has to talk to her about now. "Okay," he sighs. "Why?"

"It is _summer solstice_!" the Keeper hisses. "It is time for celebrating! And _bathing_!"

"Toph won't take a bath?" Zuko asks groggily, sitting up in bed and blinking as his eyes adjust.

"Oh, she took a bath alright." With these words, the curtains that led to his patio and personal garden are yanked back. Once Zuko squints and blinks away the spots in front of his eyes, he sees what is affronting the household staff so.

His garden is now one gigantic mud pit. And there, lounging casually in the middle of it without a care in the world, is Toph Bei Fong.

He doen't even bother with a dressing gown as he ambles outside to greet her. She must not be able to see his approach, though he notices her ears twitch once he gets close.

"Good morning," Toph greets him cheerily, favoring him with a bright grin and a wave of her hand that flings mud everywhere.

"Jie says I have to talk to you," Zuko informs her flatly.

Toph sighs in exasperation. "What does she want?" she demands. "I'm bathing, exactly like she asked, and I took off all my clothes before I got in, so she can't even throw her usual fit about how earthbending doesn't get my good clothes clean like she _always_ does."

"Um," Zuko responds, his brain getting stuck somewhere around the mention of her clothes coming off. He's never sure if it's the fact that she's blind or simply her natural personality, but Toph has never exactly been the biggest fan of modesty. It's something that embarrasses and endears her to Zuko in equal parts; a little part of him is jealous that she can shrug off the iron-clad rules of her upbringing that easily.

"So you just go tell her that I am following her directions to the _letter_," Toph insists, making a dismissive gesture with her hand and closing her eyes.

When Zuko merely stares at her with a blank look on his face, she raises an eyebrow. "Do we have a problem?"

Almost certainly. She's going to track mud all through the palace, which will be a whole new hissy fit. Also, there's all the damage to his garden, which will need replaced. Inexplicably, Zuko finds a smile curling across his face. "Nope. You just keep doing what you're doing."

* * *

Originally posted 8/22/2010


	43. Because It's In Your Heart

**Title:** Because It's In Your Heart  
**Rating:** K  
**Character/Pairing:** Aang, Tenzin (Background Katara/Aang)  
**Summary:** In which Aang attempts to explain the nature of legends to his son.  
**A/N:** Written for 31days, theme: Love songs last longer than lovers ever do. Don't blame me, I've been listening to the hippie songs from Cave of Two Lovers a lot lately.

* * *

"Dad," Tenzin said to him one afternoon, his face confused. "When we were in the market today there were some people singing about you."

"Eh?" Aang asked, dropping back to the ground from his air scooter. He'd been expecting a question about airbending. "That's not unusual. What were they singing?"

Tenzin's face wrinkled. "About you and Mom fighting in the catacombs in Ba Sing Se. I've heard them before though. They sing about you and Mom all the time. And Uncle Sokka and Sifu Toph too."

"Huh." Aang hadn't heard them before. Katara usually went to market – he tended to attract a crowd whenever he went. "Did you give them any of your coins?"

"No!" Tenzin looked down at the ground, idly sending ankle-high tornadoes in every direction. "That's _weird_. Don't you think it's weird?"

Aang grimaced and thought about it, wondering how to explain to his son that those people and their songs were of little consequence to him. Their son had noticed some time ago that people treated his father and mother differently than everyone else, that his parents were _special_, but Aang hadn't realized exactly how much he'd heard. Finally Aang reached and gestured to his son, bringing him under the shelter of his arm.

"Did I ever tell you," he asked quietly, "how the city of Omashu got its name?"

* * *

01/11/2011


End file.
